How the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic affects parcel delivery from China

Are you afraid of the coronavirus? Have you already stopped ordering products from China? And this is not surprising, because there is a lot of contradictory information around that is far from explaining the issue, but dramatizes things. Let's distance ourselves from fear, panic, and thoroughly try to get through the questions on this topic.

Is it possible to get infected with coronavirus through a parcel that came from China?

Despite the fact that today there is a lot of information about COVID-19, many people are still afraid of getting infected through receiving parcels. First of all let’s mention that until today there are no confirmed cases of infection with a dangerous disease due to the use of household items.

Theoretically this possibility is not excluded. But you should keep in mind the following:

• The probability of survival of the coronavirus outside the mammalian body for more than two days is negligible;
• The chance of getting a sufficient dose of COVID-19 through household items that can cause illness is extremely small.

How long does the coronavirus survive on the package, and can the infection arrive in the box sealed?

Scientists investigated that COVID-19 pathogens survive without nutrients from 2 to 9 days. On average, they are dangerous to humans for 4-5 days, being at room temperature on products made of glass, plastic, metal, paper and wood. Now try to remember how long it takes to get a parcel from China. In addition, since the announcement of the epidemic, these terms have significantly increased.

Taking all these factors into account, there is a maximum probability that no microbe will survive when your parcel is delivered. Of course, the panic is growing while virologists are trying to find out: which pathways spread the coronavirus. Therefore, you can increase security measures to calm yourself down.

When you receive a package from China, just wipe it with an antiseptic, the coronavirus does not survive when exposed to:

• Ethyl alcohol;
• Chloroform's;
• Formalin's;
• Ether's.

Why did the number of shipments from China decrease at the coronavirus pandemic outbreak?

In many sources, there is information that the number of parcels from China has significantly decreased at the coronavirus pandemic outbreak. But it is not so unambiguous. According to statistics, every year there is a decrease in the number of parcels sent, this is due to the celebration of the Chinese New year in this period. And this year, due to the epidemic, the holidays were extended until February 10. And, as a result, the number of postal traffic decreased by another 5% compared to the same period in 2019.

Why are shipments from Aliexpress delayed during the coronavirus epidemic

Some carriers announced: "we continue to deliver correspondence and cargo from China". However, there may be delays, and 2 reasons are given:

• significant reduction in the number of flights from China;
• fault of the Chinese side.

Today, in fact, the period for sending the paid product is automatically extended. This is again due to the extension of the new year holidays. In addition, due to the declared epidemic, some suppliers ship their products with a slight delay in time, but most of them work normally.

Do the postal operators plan to stop shipping from China during the coronavirus epidemic?

Today, more and more people are concerned about the information that all shipments from China may be suspended. We want to reassure you: the national post of China and other companies that deal with logistics have not received any bans and restrictions from the World Health Organization (WHO)  and the Universal Postal Union (UPU)  on the export of goods from China. There is only one peculiarity — there is a high probability of increasing the delivery time due to a significant reduction in air traffic with China.

How is the Chinese government increasing security measures at post offices due to the spread of coronavirus around the world

To dispel your doubts about whether to order goods from China, we will give you another argument. For security reasons, the Chinese postal service conducts additional disinfection of all shipments that pass through cities that have become sources of the disease. All parcels that are prepared for shipment are additionally processed with special disinfectants. In addition, all vehicles and areas of post offices are disinfected.

Summarizing the results, we may say that: if you buy goods in China, you are safe from the danger of contracting a deadly virus from the packaging or goods that came from China. Parcels from China can be received without the risk of infection with coronavirus.